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How to remove the Spanish (US) keyboard

Vicente Garza Reyna 20 Reputation points
2026-03-05T22:18:43.3533333+00:00

Hi, I'd like to know how to permanently disable the Spanish (US) keyboard.User's image

Since I work with an English (QWERTY) keyboard, I sometimes need to change languages to access some of the Spanish-exclusive features (like ñ or tíldes) by using a shortcut (ALT + Shift).

Unfortunately, sometimes while I'm writing, Windows seems to decide that instead of changing to the only keyboard language I have installed for the Spanish language, it should instead change to the only "Spanish" keyboard that 1) I didn't install, and 2) does not include the keys I need.
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Windows for home | Windows 11 | Input and language
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  1. Lychee-Ng 18,525 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-03-06T10:16:15.32+00:00

    Hi Vicente Garza Reyna,

    Welcome to Microsoft Q&A!

    I'm sorry to hear you're facing such a frustrating issue with ghost keyboard. This often happens when Windows add a fallback entry for your display language (US in this case). As someone once faced a similar situation to you, I have a suggestion here and you can try to see if it helps at all:

    1. Click the language indicator in the taskbar > More keyboard settings User's image
    2. Locate Spanish (Mexico) > click the three-dot > Language options User's image
    3. Scroll to Keyboards and click Add a keyboard > Manually add the ghost entry (US QWERTY) User's image
    4. Restart your PC > then going back to this list > click three-dot and Remove the US keyboard.
    5. Check the taskbar's language indicator to see if the ghost entry is gone now.
    6. If it ever comes back or there are other ghost entries, you can also do this again to remove them.

    I hope the suggestions from my experience can help with your situation! If any steps not clear, let me know and I can explain further!

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

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  1. Q&A Assist
    2026-03-05T22:18:57.1766667+00:00
    AI generated content. This question contains an answer created with AI from Q&A Assist. Learn more

    To permanently get rid of the unwanted “Spanish (US)” keyboard, remove that specific keyboard layout from Windows, not just switch away from it.

    Follow these steps in Windows 11:

    1. Select Start > Settings > Time & language > Language & region.
      Or use this shortcut from the documentation: Time & language > Language & region: ms-settings:regionlanguage.
    2. In Language & region, under the Language section, find the language entry that contains the unwanted Spanish (US) keyboard. This may be:
      • The Spanish language entry, or
      • The current Windows display language entry (for example, English), because a language can contain keyboard layouts that are not the same language as the language pack.
    3. Next to that language, select the ellipsis (…) and then choose Language options.
    4. In Language options, under Keyboards, locate the Spanish (US) keyboard layout.
    5. Select the ellipsis (…) next to Spanish (US) and choose Remove.
      • If Remove is greyed out, that means it is the only keyboard layout for that language. In that case, first Add a keyboard (for example, the Spanish layout actually wanted), then remove Spanish (US).

    After this, the Spanish (US) keyboard will no longer appear in the language bar or when cycling layouts with Alt+Shift or Windows logo key + Spacebar.

    If multiple languages or layouts are installed and Windows still cycles through more than desired, repeat the same steps for any other language entries that might contain extra keyboard layouts and remove those layouts as well.

    References:

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